Stanchion apparatus for umbrella and crowd control rope line

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical two-piece pole stand assembly that automatically locks together upon insertion of a pole is disclosed which has a permanently set in-ground sleeve base formed of a length of tubing with a top end and a bottom end. A crowd control and umbrella stanchion made from a length of tubing has an outside surface with a diameter that allows for a sliding fit into or onto the sleeve. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion includes a locking mechanism for locking the crowd control and umbrella stanchion to the sleeve base. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion has a pair of upper loops welded on opposite sides of an upper portion of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion which provides a single stanchion upright which allows for the attachment of crowd control ropes or chains and also provides for the insertion of an umbrella pole to allow for an umbrella to be secured in the same location as said stanchion uprights.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the provision of two-piece apparatus for use as a crowd control stanchion or as an umbrella stand or for the simultaneous use for both of these functions. Such an apparatus provides for the comfort and and for the control and direction of outdoor crowds to amusement park rides, ticket booths, stadium entry gates and other locations where large numbers of people must get in queue and wait for their entry to the event or attraction.

1. Brief Description of the Prior Art

The control, management and direction of crowds is well known and is typically accomplished by the provision of several spaced-apart stanchions between which rope lines, chains or ribbons are provided to direct the crowd in a desired location in an orderly manner. The stanchions can be permanently embedded into the ground or can be movable by providing a heavy base member which will support the upright stanchion. Movable stanchions have the advantage of being movable so that different flow arrangements can set up for different conditions. The provisions of a heavy base, however, can become a hazard in large crowds where people are very close together and cannot easily see the ground because of the density of the crowd. At many events, such as amusement parks, sporting events or concerts, individuals may sometimes have to wait a significant period of time before moving through the whole queue and reaching the entrance. In situations, where the event goers must queue in the blazing hot sun or in the rain, it may be beneficial to provide large umbrellas to provide relief to the individuals waiting and moving through the queue. However, particularly in dense crowds, the provision of separate stanchions for a rope line and additional cylindrical tube supports for umbrellas creates too many obstacles, interferes with the efficient movement of individuals through the queue, and greatly distracts from an uncluttered aesthetic environment which event promoters and planners greatly prefer.

A unique two-piece pole stand assembly is described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989, the specification of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference thereto. The present invention is an improvement to this two-piece pole stand. In short, the existing Apple patent describes a two-piece self-locking pole stand assembly including a sleeve base that is secured into the ground and a short tubular insert that fits snugly into the base, housing two pivot arms that engage the base and automatically lock the insert to it upon insertion of the pole. This two-piece stand assembly has been successfully used as a crowd control stanchion and as an umbrella pole stand. More specifically, American Holtzkraft, Inc. sells a commercially available version of a two-piece pole assembly for use as a crowd control stanchion (Model #609 Crowd Control Stanchion and #608 Base) and also sells a separate product for use as an umbrella stand (Model #612 Quick-Coupling Umbrella Sleeve and #611 Base). Prior to the present invention, however, separate devices were needed depending upon which of these two functions was desired.

Other known devices are believed to be of only general interest. For example, Volin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,513 disclosed a multi-adjustable, rotating and opposite-double-locking umbrella-stanchion system. This device is quite complex and only serves the function of an umbrella stand and does not teach or suggest the use of such a device as a crowd control stanchion.

Oster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,420 discloses a retractable crowd control barrier. Similarly, Eaton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 10,011,963 disclose a crowd control stanchion with chain storage. Both of these devices serve the function of a crowd control stanchion but do not teach or suggest the use of such devices as an umbrella stand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has solved the problem and eliminated the requirement of having separate stanchions including an upright member for a crowd control rope line and a pole stand and for an umbrella by providing a single two piece apparatus which serves both of these functions. The existing prior art had the primary objective to eliminate the risks involved with unwarranted disconnection of a two-piece pole stand assembly while the pole is intact and reduce the time and effort necessary to fasten a pole stand tube into an in-ground sleeve by designing a tubular insert that automatically locks into its in-ground sleeve upon insertion of the pole. The sleeve base consisted of a cylindrical tube fixed to a small flat at one end and a cylindrical collar of greater diameter and thickness than the tube attached to the other end, a length of which is bored out establishing a groove on the inside between the top edge of the tube and the collar. The sleeve is secured into the ground with its top edge flush with the ground surface. The stand insert of the prior art device and the crowd control and umbrella stanchion of the present inventions each consists of a cylindrical tube having an outside diameter that allows for a sliding fit between the tube insert (or in the case of the present invention, the crowd control and umbrella stanchion) and sleeve, a collar fixed along the length of the tube on its outside that acts as a stop between the two mating members, and a self-locking device incorporated into the collar. The self-locking device consists of two pivot arms with heels of thickness slightly less than that of the sleeve's groove that swing outward and latch into the base groove when the tubular stand or crowd control and umbrella stanchion is inserted into the sleeve base.

Because the pivot arms automatically lock the tubular stand or crowd control and umbrella stanchion into the sleeve base upon insertion of the pole, there is no risk of the two members separating until the pole is removed. In addition, assembly time is reduced.

The improvement of the present invention is the provision of a crowd control and umbrella stanchion which replaces detachable tubular insert of the former two-piece pole stand assembly. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion, which is inserted into the in-ground sleeve, allows an umbrella pole to be inserted in the upper end of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion and also has a pair of upper loops welded on opposite sides of an upper portion thereof which allows for attachment of crowd control ropes or chains. Thus, the single crowd control and umbrella stanchion simultaneously act as a stanchion upright for crowd control chains, ropes or ribbons and allows an umbrella pole to be secured into an upper end of the same stanchion upright.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following embodiment and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the assembled pole stand insert and sleeve base of the prior art apparatus described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the assembled pole stand insert and sleeve base taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 of the prior art apparatus described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a prior art rope line showing spaced-apart stanchions with loops for attaching a rope, chain or ribbon.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a prior art assembled pole stand insert and sleeve base of the apparatus described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989 positioned close to a prior art crowd control stanchion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an upper portion of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion present invention as attached to the in-ground sleeve.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion of present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion shown in FIG. 8 as rotated 90 degrees.

FIG. 10 shows a series of crowd control and umbrella stanchions supporting both an umbrella and ropes for crowd control.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to the prior art of FIGS. 1 and 2, a pole stand assembly includes a permanently set in-ground sleeve 12 that serves as a base and a detachable crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 that provides vertical support for the pole. Sleeve 12 consists of a cylindrical stainless-steel tube 16 welded to both a stainless steel flat 18 at one end and a cylindrical stainless-steel collar 20 at the other end. A small length of collar 20 is bored out, prior to sleeve assembly and on its inner surface, establishing a small cylindrical groove above the top edge of tube 16. Hole 22 is drilled through flat 18 to allow for proper drainage.

FIG. 3 shows a series of prior art crowd stanchions which are permanently affixed in the ground to provide a means to attach crowd control ropes or chains.

FIG. 4 shows two existing prior art closely mounted devices side by side into a concrete slab 300 (or otherwise mounted into the ground) which shows the need for two separate vertical support members. The umbrella pole 100 for umbrella 102 requires a permanently set-in-ground sleeve 12 and a detachable tubular insert 14 as more fully described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989. The crowd control device requires a separate stanchion 200 mounted to the ground, either in the same manner as the tubular insert 12 described in the Apple patent or by being attached to a base place 206 bolted to the concrete 300. The crowd control stanchion has loops 202 to secure crowd control chain 202. This figure was derived from a photograph which, prior to the present invention, shows the need for separate stanchions for crowd control and for an umbrella stand even when juxtaposed to one another.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 through 10, the crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 of the present invention consists of a cylindrical stainless steel tube with an outside surface diameter that is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of tubing 16 of the in-ground sleeve 12 which allows for a sliding fit of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion into the in-ground sleeve 12. A cylindrical stainless-steel collar 70 is welded to crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 on its outside surface. The locking mechanism of the present invention is the same as that described in Apple, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,989 and will not be repeated here.

A crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 is provided which is comprised of a length of steel tubing having an upper portion 52 and a lower portion 54 and having a top end 56 and a bottom end 58. As indicated, a tubular extension collar 70 is welded to the lower portion 54 of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50. The bottom end 58 of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion is inserted into the in-ground sleeve 12 to a depth shown as the ground level by the dashed line 80 in FIG. 9. A bolt and nut 72 inserted through hole 71 are utilized to prevent collar 70 of the crowd control and umbrella stanchion from being lifted out of the in-ground sleeve 12. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion has an overall length of at least 30 inches and is preferably 36 inches in length. Providing a crowd control and umbrella stanchion with a shorter length would make the stanchion less functional as a crowd control device and might result in a tripping hazard.

The tubular extension 50 has a pair of upper loops 60 which are preferably semicircular in configuration and are welded on opposite sides of said upper portion 52 of crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 provides a stanchion upright which allows attachment of crowd control rope, chain or ribbon 90. The crowd control and umbrella stanchion also provide for the insertion of an umbrella pole 100 of umbrella 102 to allow for the umbrella to be secured in the same location as any crowd control and umbrella stanchion upright 51. As shown, the crowd control and umbrella stanchion 50 also preferably has a pair of lower loops 62 welded on opposite sides of said lower portion 54 of said tubular extension 50.

FIG. 10 shows the present invention as in use for both a crowd control device and as an umbrella stand. The in-ground sleeve bases 12 are shown to illustrate the entire structure but, in actual use, these sleeve bases 12 would not be visible as they would be embedded into the ground or concrete. If desired, an umbrella could be placed into each of the crowd control and umbrella stanchions 50 (or at any desired interval such as every second or third stanchion) to provide shade all along the path created by the crowd control rope lines greatly increasing the comfort of each of the members of a crowd as they make their way through the queue and also providing increased protection from harsh sun or rain.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is understood that this is capable of modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims. 

What I claim as my invention is:
 1. An improved cylindrical two-piece pole stand assembly that automatically locks together upon insertion of a pole comprising: a permanently set in-ground sleeve base comprised of a length of tubing with a top sleeve end and a bottom sleeve end; a crowd control and umbrella stanchion comprised of a length of tubing with an outside surface with a diameter that allows for a sliding fit into or onto the sleeve, said crowd control and umbrella stanchion having an upper stanchion portion and a lower stanchion portion and having a top stanchion end and a bottom stanchion end, said crowd control and umbrella stanchion also having a collar attached to said lower stanchion portion and including a locking mechanism for locking the crowd control and umbrella stanchion to the in-ground sleeve base; said crowd control and umbrella stanchion having a pair of upper loops attached on opposite sides of said upper stanchion portion of said crowd control and umbrella stanchion providing a single stanchion upright which allows for the attachment of crowd control ropes or chains and also allows for the insertion of an umbrella pole to allow for an umbrella to be secured in the same location as said single stanchion upright utilized for crown control ropes or chains.
 2. A pole stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein said crowd control and umbrella stanchion also has a pair of lower loops welded on opposite sides of said lower stanchion portion of said crowd control and umbrella stanchion.
 3. A pole stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein said crowd control and umbrella stanchion has a length of at least 30 inches.
 4. A pole stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein said crowd control and umbrella stanchion is removable from said in-ground sleeve base only after said pole is removed from the assembly.
 5. A pole stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein a nut and bolt are utilized to prevent said collar from being lifted upward and thus preventing said crowd control and umbrella stanchion from being removed from said in-ground sleeve base. 